The Shadow That Chose Me

The Hunter's Sin

The words remained suspended in Elara's mind.

He already knows what you did.

She looked at Kael.

Then at the man standing in the doorway.

His father.

The resemblance was unmistakable.

The same dark hair.

The same sharp features.

The same cold gray eyes.

But where Kael's expression held uncertainty, the older man's face held none.

He looked completely certain.

Certain that Elara was dangerous.

Certain that Kael was making a mistake.

And certain that whatever happened next had already been decided.

Kael slowly raised his sword.

"Father."

The older man didn't blink.

"Kael."

"Lower your weapon."

"No."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"You always were stubborn."

"And you always were a liar."

Something changed in the older man's expression.

"Careful."

"I've spent my entire life being careful."

Kael stepped forward.

"Maybe that's why I'm finally starting to see the truth."

Elara looked between them.

"What is happening?"

Neither answered.

She turned toward Kael.

"You know him."

"Yes."

"Your father knows about me."

"Yes."

"And he wants me dead."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"Apparently."

His father interrupted.

"Not apparently."

The older man pointed his sword toward Elara.

"She must die."

Elara's stomach twisted.

"Why?"

"Because she is the vessel."

"The vessel for what?"

The man's gaze shifted toward the shadow behind her.

"The First King."

The room went silent.

Kael lowered his sword slightly.

"That's impossible."

"You heard your own father's voice."

"I heard him."

"And you saw the mark."

Kael looked at Elara's palm.

"That doesn't prove anything."

His father laughed bitterly.

"You're still defending her."

"She's a person."

"She's more than that."

"She's still a person."

The older man's eyes hardened.

"That is exactly how your uncle died."

Kael froze.

Elara noticed.

"Your uncle?"

Kael didn't respond.

His father stepped farther into the lodge.

"Tell her."

Kael's grip tightened around his sword.

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her why our family has hunted hers for generations."

Elara looked at Kael.

"Why?"

Silence.

"Kael."

He looked away.

His father answered for him.

"Because your family murdered mine."

Elara's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Two hundred years ago, the Veyne dynasty summoned something from beyond this world."

His voice was cold and measured.

"They believed they could control it."

He looked directly at Elara.

"They were wrong."

"What happened?"

"The entity possessed the king."

Kael's father took another step.

"Entire cities were destroyed. Thousands died. My ancestors tried to stop him."

"And they failed?"

"They succeeded."

Elara frowned.

"Then why is the shadow back?"

The man's expression became grim.

"Because they didn't destroy it."

He pointed toward her.

"They sealed it inside the royal bloodline."

Elara stared at him.

"Inside me?"

"Inside every heir."

Her breathing became shallow.

"Then why didn't it awaken before?"

"Because your father hid you."

Kael suddenly spoke.

"My father didn't hide her."

The older man looked at him.

"Then who did?"

Kael said nothing.

Elara's eyes narrowed.

"You know."

"I have a theory."

"Tell me."

Kael hesitated.

His father smiled.

"Your mother."

Elara looked toward him.

"My mother?"

"She was the last guardian."

"What does that mean?"

"Your mother wasn't born a Veyne."

Elara's heart skipped.

"What?"

"She was born into the Order."

Kael's father glanced at his son.

"The same Order that trained us."

Elara slowly turned toward Kael.

"You knew?"

"No."

His father answered.

"He didn't."

Kael looked at him.

"How do you know my mother's family?"

"Because I was there the night she betrayed us."

Elara's face went pale.

"What did she do?"

The older man's expression darkened.

"She stole you."

"From whom?"

"The Order."

"Why?"

"Because they wanted to kill you."

Elara stared at him.

"Why would they want to kill a child?"

"Because they knew what you would become."

Kael stepped forward.

"Enough."

His father turned toward him.

"You still don't understand."

"I understand enough."

"No."

The older man shook his head.

"You don't understand what your father did."

Kael's face hardened.

"You weren't there."

"I was."

"Then tell me."

His father remained silent.

Kael's voice rose.

"Tell me what happened that night."

The older man's eyes flickered.

"Your mother came to me."

Elara felt something inside her shift.

Kael's father continued.

"She was carrying a child."

"Me," Elara whispered.

"Yes."

"Why did she come to you?"

"She asked me to kill you."

Elara froze.

Kael stared at his father.

"What?"

"She knew the seal was failing."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because I couldn't."

For the first time, the man's voice cracked.

"I had killed monsters before. I had killed men. I had killed people I once called friends."

He looked at Elara.

"But you were only a baby."

Elara's eyes filled with confusion.

"So you let us go?"

"No."

The man shook his head.

"I helped your mother escape."

Kael stared.

"Why?"

"Because I believed there might be another way."

Elara whispered, "There was."

The man's expression hardened.

"I was wrong."

He raised his sword.

"Now the seal is broken."

The shadow behind Elara moved.

Kael immediately stepped between them.

"You're not touching her."

His father stared at him.

"Move."

"No."

"You will regret this."

"Maybe."

Kael's sword rose.

"But I'm not moving."

His father sighed.

"Then I suppose I'll have to kill my own son."

He attacked.

Steel struck steel.

Kael barely blocked the first blow.

The force drove him backward.

Elara stepped aside.

"Kael!"

"Stay back!"

His father attacked again.

Kael blocked.

The older man's movements were faster.

Stronger.

More precise.

He struck Kael's shoulder.

Kael staggered.

"You're holding back," his father said.

Kael wiped blood from his lip.

"So are you."

The older man attacked again.

Kael ducked.

His sword sliced through the air.

The fight moved outside the lodge.

Elara followed.

She watched as father and son battled beneath the moonlight.

Neither wanted to kill the other.

But both knew the fight could end that way.

Kael was pushed against a tree.

His father's sword stopped inches from his throat.

"Last chance."

Kael stared up at him.

"No."

The older man sighed.

"I hoped you'd be smarter."

He raised the sword.

Elara's palm burned.

The shadow erupted.

It struck the older man and sent him flying across the clearing.

Kael stared at Elara.

"Don't."

She looked at him.

"I couldn't just watch."

"You don't understand what you're doing."

"I'm trying to save you."

The shadow continued spreading.

It covered the ground around Elara's feet.

Her eyes began glowing silver.

Kael's father slowly stood.

His expression had changed.

He wasn't angry anymore.

He was terrified.

"That's impossible."

Elara looked at him.

"What?"

He stared at the shadow.

"That isn't the First King's power."

Kael frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

The man stepped backward.

"The First King didn't choose her."

Elara's breathing stopped.

"What?"

"He couldn't."

The shadow behind Elara rose higher.

The older hunter whispered:

"Something else did."

Kael looked at Elara.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

The man's eyes widened.

"She's not the vessel."

He lowered his sword.

"She's the host."

Elara felt a cold sensation move through her body.

"What is the difference?"

He looked at her.

"The vessel contains the darkness."

His eyes shifted toward the shadow.

"The host gives it a body."

Silence.

Kael's face went pale.

"Then what is inside her?"

The older man didn't answer.

Elara felt the shadow move behind her.

Something brushed against her thoughts.

Not a voice this time.

A memory.

She saw herself as a child.

Five years old.

Standing in the underground chamber.

Her father was kneeling before her.

Her mother was crying.

And beside them stood Kael's father.

But he wasn't holding a sword.

He was holding a baby.

A second baby.

Elara stared.

The memory changed.

Her mother screamed.

Her father pushed her behind him.

Kael's father raised his weapon.

Then everything went black.

Elara gasped.

She returned to the present.

"Kael."

He looked at her.

"What?"

"I remember something."

"What?"

"There was another baby."

His father went completely still.

Elara looked at him.

"You were there."

He said nothing.

"You were holding a baby."

Kael turned toward his father.

"What baby?"

The older man closed his eyes.

"Stop."

Elara stepped closer.

"What baby?"

"Elara."

"Tell me."

"I can't."

"You know."

He opened his eyes.

The fear in them was unmistakable.

"You aren't supposed to remember that."

"Why?"

"Because that child is still alive."

The forest fell silent.

Kael stared at him.

"Who?"

The older man looked toward Elara.

"Your brother."

Kael's face drained of color.

"I don't have a brother."

"You did."

"When?"

"Twenty-one years ago."

Elara felt her heart pounding.

"What happened to him?"

The older man didn't answer.

Kael grabbed his father's coat.

"Tell me."

The older man looked at him.

"Your mother told me the child had to disappear."

"Why?"

"Because he carried the other half."

Elara whispered, "Other half of what?"

The older man looked at her.

"The shadow."

A terrible silence followed.

Elara stared at her palm.

"No."

The shadow moved.

Then she heard the little girl's voice again.

You finally remember.

Elara turned.

The girl in the white dress stood among the trees.

But this time she wasn't smiling.

She looked terrified.

"Elara," she whispered.

"What?"

The girl's silver eyes filled with tears.

"He's coming."

Kael drew his sword.

"Who?"

The girl looked toward the sky.

"Your brother."

Kael froze.

Elara looked upward.

The clouds were moving unnaturally fast.

A dark shape appeared above the forest.

Something enormous was descending.

Kael's father whispered:

"No..."

Elara's palm burned.

The shadow behind her began trembling.

Then the creature landed.

The impact shook the earth.

Trees snapped.

Dust filled the air.

When it cleared, a man stood in the center of the clearing.

He looked young.

Perhaps twenty-one.

Dark hair.

Pale skin.

Silver eyes.

A black mark covered his chest.

He looked at Kael.

Then at Elara.

And smiled.

"Brother."

Kael couldn't speak.

The stranger's smile widened.

"I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

Then he turned toward Elara.

"And you..."

His eyes darkened.

"...I've been waiting even longer."

The shadow behind Elara suddenly screamed.

Not whispered.

Not growled.

Screamed.

The sound shook the entire forest.

And for the first time, Elara understood something terrifying.

The shadow wasn't afraid of the stranger.

It was afraid of what he could become.